Choice
by Gravitee
Summary: Shepard has never seen another way to save the world. His way was always safer, more efficient, easier. Now, he is forced to see things from another perspective by an impossible event.
1. Chapter 1: Plural

Writer's notes: If I have to explain too much, I'm not writing the story properly, so this'll probably be the only one of these.

Firstly, this story is set after Mass Effect 2. Do not read if you have not already completed it... Or if you've read tons of spoilers online.

Cerberus network, for some reason, won't work when I try to use it. So the extra characters don't show up in this story, because I don't know enough about them. 'Sides, there are already enough. And now onto our featured... Story thing.

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Chapter 1- Plural

Everywhere was dark. Silent. Empty. Except for the small red lights of alliance armor. The man reached for his weapons, but ended up grasping for air... If there was even air in this void. He reached for his helmet, activating the lights, but still found nothing. The only sound was the rough metallic noise of his own rebreather.

...But why could he hear it _behind_ him?

He turned, to find a helmet. A massive helmet. Titanic. It was exactly like his in every way, but it was bigger than anything he had ever seen. An equally gigantic hand reached up, pulling off the faceplate. Revealing it's face.

It was male, with some rough stubble on his chin. His skin was pale, but his facial structure looked Mongolian, or Japanese. His head wasn't bald, but it was obviously shaved, with a subtle shine. That wasn't important. What was important was the scars. The orange scars, forming a grid on his face, and his eyes. His glowing orange eyes, almost red. The man in the void watched as the scars grew across the giant's face, tearing his face apart. Orange-red liquid poured from the cracks, like lava, burning away his face. Leaving only a burning metallic skull. It opened it's mouth, and roared. The sound of the end of the world.

Shepard awoke with a start. What a nightmare. That was... Beyond a nightmare. He'd been having the same dream, over and over, ever since the human reaper was destroyed. He thought about talking to Chambers about it... But he didn't want to poke a wound. Better to let it heal. Besides, it wasn't messing with his work, and that was all that mattered.

"Good morning, Commander."

EDI's familiar holographic image appeared on the opposite side of the room. Shepard was surprised that she said "morning", since the reaper was destroyed, he'd been waking up later than normal.

"Shepard, I don't know if you're actually awake or going back to dreamland, but you need to get your butt in gear."

Joker was one of the few people Shepard trusted. Well, he trusted him to get the job done. He was too mischievous to be properly trusted.

"Fine. I'll be down in a bit."

Shepard walked over to his wardrobe, before noticing he slept in his uniform. He shrugged and headed to the elevator instead. He knew that he'd smell but he had the feeling he had to shoot something soon, and he wanted to get it over with.

Shepard was surprised to find most of the crew gathered around the cockpit. It was serious. Joker looked over his shoulder at Shepard. "You're going to want to see this."

Shepard stepped forwards and Joker pulled up a holographic image of the Normandy. Shepard looked at it for a few seconds, noticing nothing wrong. "It looks fine to me."

Joker rolled his eyes and turned his chair around to face him. "Shepard... That isn't our ship."

Shepard crossed his arms. "How is that possible?"

Joker spun back around again, pressing some holographic buttons. "I don't know. But that's not all."

Loud static filled the room, but was quickly replaced with a calm, but stern female voice. "This is Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy. Something... Weird has happened. Most of the ship's functions have failed an-"

The real Shepard stopped it before it could continue. His face held no emotion, which was the best sign that he was pissed.

"Joker. Dock with the 'Normandy'. I want to meet 'Commander Shepard' myself."

Shepard sat in the empty ship. She'd set the message to repeat, but she wasn't sure if anyone would find it. Without FTL communications, it was unlikely. The chances of a ship just finding her was next to none, but it was better than nothing. She tapped her helmet slightly, checking it was still airtight. For some reason she felt nervous wearing the rebreather, she never entirely trusted it. It was probably just paranoia.

She panicked slightly when she heard a lot of pressurized air being released, but it wasn't her rebreather, it was the airlock. Three armored figures stepped in. The first wore alliance armor, painted a light gray all over with some modifications. The second was a simply titanic Krogan, and the third was a Turian, with massive burn marks on his armor, but curiously, none on his helmet. "You don't look like Alliance. Who are you?"

The Krogan grunted and shrugged. The Turian looked away nervously. The human stepped forwards, obviously angry.

"My name is Commander Alex Shepard."

Her attempts to process that sentence were interrupted by an armored fist to the chin.


	2. Chapter 2: Contrast

Chapter 2: Contrast

Shepard awoke. She was strapped to a medical bed. That made sense. Hostiles just captured her... Hostiles that thought they _were _her. Her thoughts went back to the human. "Alex Shepard". Well, she was on their ship now. Maybe she'd get some answers. The ship looked expensive, new, shiny. Despite that, it was clearly designed as a military ship. In fact, the style reminded her of the Normandy. Not quite the same, but similar.

Shepard removed his helmet. He wanted to see her face to face. Still, she sounded genuine. Probably a nutcase... But that didn't explain the Normandy. They were still docked to it. It was too big to move, they needed another ship for that. And if it could be repaired, Shepard was not going to leave it there. He knew it was a fake. It just didn't seem right to leave it. His footsteps carried him to the med bay, where his captive was restrained. He was going to interrogate the _fuck _out of her.

...He made a mental note never to say that in front of anyone.

The fake Shepard entered the room, standing over her. He couldn't be called ugly, but he couldn't be called handsome. Rugged, strong, yes, but not handsome. If anything, he looked scary. His eyes were constantly wide open, taking in every detail. And the stubble on his face and his head did not give him the look of a kind man. His face held no emotion, which she somehow recognized as a sign that he was pissed.

"Who are you, and what were you doing in the Normandy?"

She blinked. That question was directed at her, wasn't it?... She hoped that he didn't seriously believe that he was Commander Shepard.

"I said. I'm Commander Shepard, something happened, and the ship lost all function. The crew's disappeared, and if you'd let me go, I can find out what happened."

He... She decided to refer to him as "Alex" shook his head.

"_I'm_ Commander Shepard. I've saved the earth twice from the Reaper threat, and I'm not done saving the world. Now, who are you?"

"Commander. Anne. Shepard. No matter how many times you ask, my name won't change!"

Alex looked a little taken aback. But smiled. That didn't seem like a good thing.

"So, you're Commander Shepard? Alright then. Tell me everything you've done so far, from the attack on Eden Prime to now."

She didn't expect that. The attack on Eden Prime was common knowledge, but it was generally unknown that it had anything to do with the Reapers. Most just thought it was the earliest Geth attack, not a particularly noteworthy event in Shepard's life. But Alex somehow understood... She decided to be honest. She explained every event, from the Beacon to the Conduit to Saren's last attempt at redemption. Alex stopped her at random intervals to correct her, but he was always wrong. According to him, the Rachni were wiped out, none of the Feros colonists survived, Alenko survived Virmire and so did Wrex, and, most importantly, the Council were wiped out and replaced with an entirely human council... And when she stopped, he looked like he expected more. According to him, something else, very important, happened after Sovereign's destruction.

She mentally progressed through the events as he remembers them, and actually, it seemed logical. An understanding nod from him showed that he did the same. Before she could ask him where he got his insane ideas from, a Geth walked into the room.

Legion stepped into the room out of curiosity. They recognized that an organic was in the room. And that it was two people. "Shepard Commander." One of Shepard began panicking, the other looked up. "Legion, what're you doing here?". Legion looked at Shepard, then looked back at Shepard. "Shepard Commander. There are two of you today.". Shepard looked confused, looking at Shepard, then back at Legion again. "What do you mean 'two of me'?". Legion moved their platform's armor plates to represent confusion. "There are two of you today. You are located on the medical table and next to the medical table.". Shepard looked at eachother, one of Shepard still visibly scared, the other somewhat confused. "Legion, go back to the AI core.".

"Order received."

Shepard looked down at his female doppelganger after Legion left the room. Well, that was confusing. He'd have to investigate further later. For now, he had to decide what to do with... Her. She fixed the problem for him.

"Look. I know you don't trust me, and I sure as hell don't trust you. We've both got logical arguments, so how about we find the crazy one between us for sure."

Shepard thought to himself that he already found the crazy one, but he let her go on.

"If we access Alliance records, we've got my... Shepard's DNA. All we need to do is a quick DNA test. If I'm wrong, I'll accept whatever you want to do with me."

He looked away from her. That seemed reasonable... But it would be so much more efficient just to shoot her now. He had his entire crew to back him up.

But all the same. If he broke down her facade, maybe she'd snap back to whoever she really is, and then he might be able to find out where she got the Normandy.

"You can stay here until I decide what to do with you. And no attacking Legion, he's on our side."

He stepped out of the room, the door making a distinctively different noise from when he entered. The door was locked. The magnetic restrains deactivated, letting her go.

She lifted herself up, sitting on the bed. She thought about Alex. One thing she noted, is that they did look similar. Their facial structure was similar. They didn't share a similar scar. He certainly had them, but while her own scar was curved, shallow, and in a way, elegant as a part of her face. His formed a grid, and symbols, and it almost looked like his face was falling apart, bit by bit because of those alien scars.

She decided that train of thought was not going to a happy destination. She sat on the edge of the bed, her chin in her hands, staring at the wall.

This was going to be a long day.


End file.
